Method and system for commerce in media program related merchandise

ABSTRACT

The disclosed technology provides systems and methods for delivering a media program and purchase opportunities related to the media program to user equipment. A media program and its related merchandise information can be located at a distribution facility. The distribution facility can tailor the purchase opportunities it provides to the user equipment based on the user equipment&#39;s equipment category. When user equipment receives purchase opportunities, the user equipment can select the opportunities based on which types of merchandise are supported by the user equipment. The user equipment and/or a distribution facility may be able to determine the location of the user equipment. When the distribution facility provides merchandise information for physical merchandise to the user equipment, the merchandise information can be selected to include physical merchandise that are available for purchase at stores that are, for example, near the location of the user equipment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent application No.11/323,539, filed Dec. 29, 2005, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed technology relates generally to media programs and, moreparticularly, to providing users of a media program with an opportunityto preview, purchase, and/or gain more information about merchandiserelated to the media program.

Increasingly, user electronic devices are becoming more multi-functionaland have the capability to interact with more media formats andprograms. For example, handheld/pocket PCs, cellular telephones,computers, and television sets today are capable of accessing andplaying digital music and video, surfing Web content, and/or runningvideo games. In particular, user devices and equipment are now capableof accessing media content and programs that historically have beenaccessed only by very particular types of devices. The proliferation ofmedia content and programs to many different types of user devices hasthe potential of reaching a greater number and variety of audiences.Because media content has spawned an entire industry of media-relatedmerchandise, the trend of greater accessibility to media content is anarea of potentially greater media-related commerce.

However, despite the increasingly multi-functional nature of userdevices, many types of user devices have still retained dominantfunctionalities that allow users to enjoy capabilities not offered byother types of devices to the same degree. For example, a cellulartelephone allows a user to enjoy high fidelity person-to-personcommunication capabilities more than users of other types of devices. Asanother example, users of personal computers have the ability to enjoystunning, high-resolution video games more than users of other types ofdevices. Therefore, although user devices are becoming moremulti-functional, there may still be noticeable differences among thecapabilities of different types of user devices.

With the potential benefit of reaching a greater audience throughaccessibility to media content and programming, there is also thecomplication of reaching users who do not have the same device/equipmentcapabilities. Accordingly, there is interest in developing the benefitsof greater media access while addressing such complications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed technology relates to media programs and merchandiserelated to media programs. A media program can be a video program, anaudio program, a gaming program, Web content, or another suitable formof media. Merchandise related to a media program can be created and madeavailable to users. The merchandise can be electronic merchandise (e.g.,ring tone, wallpaper, screen saver, user interface “skins”) or physicalmerchandise (e.g., CD, DVD, poster, board game). As an example, if amedia program is a movie, electronic merchandise related to the moviecan include a telephone ring tone featuring the movie's theme song, acomputer wallpaper showing the movie's characters, a screen savershowing clips or scenes from the movie, a user interface “skin” showingthe movie's theme colors or showing images from the movie, or a computergame based on the movie, and physical merchandise related to the moviecan include a soundtrack for the movie on CD, a poster showing themovie's characters, or a board game based on the movie.

When a user is enjoying the media program on user equipment (e.g., atelevision and set-top box, a computer, a cellular telephone) or after auser has been presented with the media program, the user equipment canpresent the user with opportunities to preview, purchase, and/or seemore information about some of the related merchandise. In general, theuser equipment can present the user with an opportunity to purchaseelectronic merchandise related to the media program. The user equipmentcan additionally present the user with an opportunity to see moreinformation about physical merchandise. In this manner, if a user isinterested in merchandise related to the media program, the user canimmediately preview, purchase, or see more information about themerchandise, rather than spending additional time to locate themerchandise elsewhere.

In one aspect of the invention, multiple users may access a mediaprogram from different user devices, and different purchaseopportunities may arise depending on the capabilities of the differentdevices. To ensure that user equipment is not inundated with irrelevantpurchase opportunities, purchase opportunities related to the mediaprogram can be tailored for different types of user devices so that userdevices are presented with mostly relevant purchase opportunities. Inone embodiment, purchase opportunities that are communicated to a userequipment can be tailored by, for example, selecting purchaseopportunities that are applicable to a category of user equipment.

In one embodiment, the purchase opportunities related to a media programcan be tailored by a distribution facility. A distribution facility cantailor the purchasing opportunities based on the particular type of userequipment that is receiving the opportunities. For example, a computerand a cellular telephone may both access an episode of the televisionshow “Desperate Housewives.” The distribution facility can provide, tothe computer, opportunities to purchase a wallpaper for the computerdisplay. On the other hand, the distribution facility can provide, tothe cellular telephone, opportunities to purchase ring tones for thetelephone. In this manner, the distribution facility provides differentpurchase opportunities to different user equipment that access the samemedia program.

In one embodiment, a user equipment can determine which purchaseopportunities are relevant to tailor its purchase opportunities. Forexample, a distribution facility may provide wallpaper purchaseopportunities for various wallpaper resolutions to all types of userequipment that access an episode of “Desperate Housewives”. If acomputer equipment receives the purchase opportunities, the computer candetermine that cellular telephone wallpaper resolutions are unsupportedand can keep only computer resolution wallpaper purchase opportunities.On the other hand, if a cellular telephone receives the purchaseopportunities, the telephone can determine that computer wallpaperresolutions are unsupported and can keep only the cellular telephoneresolution wallpaper purchase opportunities. Therefore, a user devicecan tailor its purchase opportunities by, for example, selectingpurchase opportunities based on their applicability to the user device.In one embodiment, a user device can tailor its purchase opportunitiesby selecting purchase opportunities based on their applicability to acategory of user equipment to which the user device belong.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the disclosed technology, systems andmethods are provided for delivering a media program and merchandiseinformation for merchandise related to the media program to userequipment. Media programs can reside on a network server or otherhosting/distribution equipment that can receive a request for a mediaprogram and can communicate the media program to user equipment. Userequipment can include a television, set-top box, digital video recorder(DVR), desktop computer, laptop computer, handheld/pocket PC, personaldigital assistant, cellular telephone, or a digital music player, forexample.

In one aspect of the invention, server/distribution equipment caninclude media programs and merchandise information for merchandiserelated to the media programs. The merchandise can includeapplication-specific merchandise related to the media program, such as aring tone, wallpaper, screen saver, audio soundtrack, video episodes,computer game, or user interface skins. Additionally, merchandise can becharacterized as electronic merchandise (e.g., MP3 music file) orphysical merchandise (e.g., music CD).

A server/distribution system can maintain a table of categories of userequipment, wherein the categories can each be associated withmerchandise information. For example, the categories can be merchandiseinformation for computer equipment, merchandise information for cellulartelephone equipment, or merchandise information for DVR equipment. Whena server/distribution system receives a request for a media program, theserver/distribution system can determine which category or categories ofuser equipment are appropriate for the user equipment which provided therequest. In one embodiment, when user equipment provides a request for amedia program to a server/distribution system, the user equipment canalso indicate a category of user equipment to which the user equipmentbelongs. Based on the indication, the server/distribution system canselect one or more categories of user equipment from the table. Theserver/distribution system can provide merchandise informationassociated with the selected category to the user equipment and canprovide the requested media program to the user equipment. Theserver/distribution system can include a processor for executing machineinstructions and a memory that contains machine instructions. Theserver/distribution system can operate at least partially using theprocessor and the machine instructions.

A server/distribution system can receive multiple requests for aparticular media program from different user equipment. For eachrequest, the server/distribution system may provide differentmerchandise information to the different user equipment. The userequipment can be television equipment, computer equipment, and mobileuser equipment. If the requesting user equipment includes a telephoneapplication, the server/distribution system can provide merchandiseinformation for a ring tone to the user equipment.

In one aspect of the invention, a user may be interested in finding outwhere physical merchandise related to a media program is available forpurchase. A distribution facility or the user equipment can presentinformation to a user regarding where to purchase such merchandise, and,in one embodiment, the information can include only purchase locationsthat are near the user's location. For example, a user on a cellulartelephone may be access an episode of “Desperate Housewives” and may beinterested in finding out where a poster related to the show can bepurchased. If nearby stores carry the poster, the cellular telephone orthe distribution facility can inform the user of the location of thenearby stores.

In one aspect of the invention, a server/distribution system can includemerchandise information for physical merchandise related to a mediaprogram. When the server/distribution system receives a user request fora media program, the server/distribution system can determine thelocation of the user equipment. The server/distribution system candetermine the location by requesting the location from the userequipment and/or by determining the location using locationtriangulation. The server/distribution system can include one or morelocation criteria. For example, the location criteria can requirephysically located merchandise to be in the same zip code as the userequipment, or be within a particular distance radius to the userequipment. Based on a location criterion and the location of the userequipment, the server/distribution system can provide only merchandiseinformation that meet the location criterion. The media program and themerchandise information can be provided to the user equipment. Theserver/distribution system can periodically re-determine the location ofthe user equipment.

In one aspect of the invention, user equipment can receive a requestedmedia program and merchandise information for merchandise related to themedia program. The merchandise can be application-specific merchandise,such as a ring tone, a wallpaper, a screen saver, a user interface skin,a computer game, a RealPlayer™ soundtrack, or a MPEG video, for example.

In one embodiment, the user equipment can store the received merchandiseinformation based on determining whether or not it supports theapplication-specific merchandise.

In one embodiment, user equipment having an interactive program guidecan provide a purchase opportunity to a user through the program guide.The user equipment can notify the user of the purchase opportunity inconnection with a program listing or a program description region of theinteractive program guide. The notice can be provided before, during,and/or after the broadcast of a media program.

In one embodiment, the user equipment can present the media program andcan provide a purchase opportunity during the presentation of the mediaprogram or at the end of the media program. In one embodiment,merchandise related to the media program can be associated with aparticular elapsed time of the media program. This particular elapsedtime can be stored in the merchandise information for the merchandise.When the user equipment is presenting the media program, the userequipment can keep track of the elapsed time of the media program. Whenthe elapsed time surpasses the particular elapsed time in themerchandise information, the user equipment can provide a purchaseopportunity associated with the merchandise information. In oneembodiment, user equipment can provide the purchase opportunity bydisplaying a notification to the user. If the user equipment supports avibration feature, such as a vibration feature on a cellular telephone,the notification can be a vibration of the user equipment.

After providing a notification, the user equipment can provide a timeinterval for a user to indicate interest in the purchase opportunity. Ifthe user equipment receives an indication during this time interval, theuser equipment can display an interactive overlay that providesinformation about the merchandise and options to preview themerchandise, purchase the merchandise, or exit the overlay display. Ifthe user equipment receives an indication to preview or buy electronicmerchandise, the user equipment can access the merchandise based on anelectronic address in the merchandise information for the merchandise.

In one aspect of the invention, user equipment can provide purchaseinformation for physical merchandise related to a media program. In oneembodiment, the purchase information can be displayed in anadvertisement. In one embodiment, the purchase information can bedisplayed in a sponsor notice. In one embodiment, the purchaseinformation can be displayed in an advertisement region of aninteractive program guide.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages,will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of exemplary user television equipment that ispresenting a media program;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of exemplary user television equipment that isdisplaying a purchase opportunity;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of exemplary user computer equipment that ispresenting a media program;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of exemplary user computer equipment that isdisplaying a purchase opportunity;

FIG. 5A is a diagram of exemplary mobile user equipment that ispresenting a media program;

FIG. 5B is a diagram of additional exemplary mobile user equipment thatis presenting a media program;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of exemplary mobile user equipment that isdisplaying a purchase opportunity;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of exemplary applications and components inone embodiment of user equipment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration for storingmedia programs, merchandise information, and related merchandise;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of one embodiment of a merchandise information datastructure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an exemplary configuration for maintaining andorganizing merchandise information;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary table of user equipmentcategories;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary table ofmanufacturer-specific user equipment categories;

FIG. 13A is a flow diagram of exemplary operations for accessing andproviding merchandise information based on a user equipment category;

FIG. 13B is a flow diagram of exemplary operations for accessing andproviding merchandise information based on supported applications;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of exemplary user equipment operations forreceiving and maintaining merchandise information;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary screen display of an indication that merchandiserelated to a media program is available;

FIG. 16A is a block diagram of exemplary user equipment components;

FIG. 16B is a block diagram of another embodiment of exemplary userequipment components;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of exemplary user equipment operations fornotifying a user of available merchandise related to a media program;

FIG. 18A is an exemplary display screen of an indication thatmerchandise related to the media program is available;

FIG. 18B is a flow diagram of exemplary user equipment operations fornotifying a user of available merchandise related to a media program;

FIG. 19A is a diagram of a screen display of an exemplary interactiveprogram guide for a larger display screen;

FIG. 19B is a diagram of a screen display of an exemplary interactiveprogram guide for a smaller display screen;

FIG. 20 is a diagram of exemplary location determination technologies;

FIG. 21A is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration for organizingmerchandise information;

FIG. 21B is a block diagram of exemplary location-specific merchandiseinformation;

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram of exemplary media program source operationsfor communicating merchandise information to user equipment;

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of exemplary user equipment operations forrequesting merchandise information;

FIG. 24A is an exemplary screen display of an advertisement indicatingthat merchandise related to a media program is available;

FIG. 24B is an exemplary screen display of a sponsored advertisement;

FIG. 24C is a diagram of a screen display of an exemplary interactiveprogram guide having advertisement regions;

FIG. 25 is an exemplary screen display of providing a merchandisedescription and a purchase opportunity to a user;

FIG. 26 is an exemplary screen display of providing merchandisedescription to a user;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of an exemplary interactive media guidancesystem;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary remote control device;and

FIG. 29 is a is a block diagram of exemplary user equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance, an interface that allows users to efficiently navigatemedia selections and easily identify media that they may desire. Anapplication which provides such guidance is referred to herein as aninteractive media guidance application or, sometimes, a guidanceapplication.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides are well-known guidanceapplications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among andlocate television programming viewing choices and, in some systems,digital music choices. The television programming (and musicprogramming) may be provided via traditional broadcast, cable,satellite, Internet, or any other communication technology. Theprogramming may be provided on a subscription basis (sometimes referredto as premium programming), as pay-per-view programs, or on-demand suchas in video-on-demand (VOD) systems.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are able to access media on personal computers(PCs) and devices on which they traditionally could not.Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that communicate mediawith equipment not part of the user's broadcast, cable or satellitetelevision-delivery network) allow users to navigate among and locatedesirable video clips, full motion videos (which may include televisionprograms), images, music files, and other suitable media. Consequently,media guidance is also necessary on modern non-television-centricplatforms. For example, media guidance applications may be provided ason-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-aloneapplications or clients on hand-held computers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs) or cellular telephones. In some systems, users maycontrol equipment remotely via a media guidance application. Forexample, users may access an online media guide and set recordings orother settings on their in home equipment. This may be accomplished bythe on-line guide controlling the user's equipment directly or viaanother media guide that runs on the user's equipment. Remote access ofinteractive media guidance applications is described in greater detailin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/246,392, filed Oct. 7, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the aspects andembodiments of the invention described herein can be partially orentirely provided in or through an interactive program guide. Asdescribed above herein, the interactive program guide can be located ata user equipment or can be an online/networked interactive programguide.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, media programs residingon server/distribution equipment can be accessed by both television userequipment and non-television-centric user equipment, such as computerequipment and mobile user equipment (e.g., cellular telephone). A mediaprogram can include video programming (e.g., movie, television program,music video, news, live or delayed recording), audio programming (e.g.,music, radio show, news, live or delayed recording), computer gamingprograms, Web content, or another suitable form of media.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, merchandise related to amedia program can be created and made available to users. Themerchandise can be electronic merchandise (e.g., ring tone, wallpaper,screen saver, user interface skin) or physical merchandise (e.g., CD,DVD, poster, board game). As an example, if a media program is a movie,electronic merchandise related to the movie can include a telephone ringtone featuring the movie's theme song, a computer wallpaper showing themovie's characters, a screen saver showing clips or scenes from themovie, a user interface skin showing the movie's theme colors or showingimages from the movie, or a computer game based on the movie, andphysical merchandise related to the movie can include a soundtrack forthe movie on CD, a poster showing the movie's characters, or a boardgame based on the movie.

User equipment (e.g., a television and set-top box, a computer, acellular telephone) can present a user with opportunities to preview,purchase, and/or get more information about merchandise related to amedia program. In general, the user equipment can present the user withan opportunity to purchase electronic merchandise related to the mediaprogram. The user equipment can additionally present the user with anopportunity to get more information on physical merchandise. In thismanner, if a user is interested in merchandise related to the mediaprogram, the user can immediately preview, purchase, or get moreinformation about the merchandise while enjoying the media program,rather than spending additional time afterwards to locate themerchandise elsewhere. The term “purchase opportunity” as used hereinrefers to an opportunity for a user to see more information for amerchandise, preview the merchandise, or purchase the merchandise. Theprocess of providing a purchase opportunity to a user may involve anumber of operations, including, in one embodiment, accessingmerchandise information for the merchandise.

A media program and its related merchandise information can be locatedat a server/distribution facility. When a server/distribution facilityreceives a request for a media program or for merchandise informationfrom user equipment, the server/distribution facility can tailor themerchandise information it provides to the user equipment based on theuser equipment's equipment category. In this manner, aserver/distribution facility can efficiently provide to the userequipment merchandise information for relevant merchandise, rather thaninundating the user equipment with irrelevant merchandise information.

In one aspect of the invention, when user equipment receives merchandiseinformation, the user equipment can select to keep all or a subset ofthe merchandise information based on the types of applications that aresupported by the user equipment. For example, a cellular telephone canreceive merchandise information that may or may not be tailored orapplicable to cellular telephone equipment. Even when user equipmentreceives merchandise information that is tailored or applicable tocellular telephone equipment generally, the merchandise information maystill include types of merchandise that are not supported by particularbrands or models of cellular telephones. As an example, althoughcellular telephones generally support customizable ring tones, morerecent models of cellular telephones can support polyphonic rings toneswhile earlier models of cellular telephones may not.

In one aspect of the invention, a user may be interested in seeinginformation about physical merchandise and where they are available forpurchase. In one embodiment, user equipment and/or a server/distributionfacility may be able to determine the location of the user equipment.When the server/distribution facility provides merchandise informationfor physical merchandise to the user equipment, the merchandiseinformation can be selected to include only physical merchandise thatare available for purchase at stores that are near the location of theuser equipment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, user television equipment located in a home orother building or facility is shown. The illustrated televisionequipment includes a television 102 that is in communication with aset-top box 104 that may optionally have digital video recordingcapabilities. In general, the set-top box 104 can access mediadistribution facilities and servers (not shown) through one or morecommunication technologies, including wireline technologies 106 (e.g.,cable, digital subscriber loop, optical fiber, telephone modem),satellite technologies 108, and wireless technologies 120, such ascellular technology (e.g., GSM), wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11b/g), andbluetooth, for example. The set-top box 104 can receive media programsthrough the wireline connection 106, the satellite connection 108,and/or the wireless connection 120. The received media programs can bedisplayed on the television screen 112 and/or can be stored in aseparate digital video recorder 114. In one embodiment, the set-top boxmay be optional, and the digital video recorder 114 can be directlyconnected to the wireline connection 106, the satellite connection 108,and/or the wireless connection 120.

In the illustrated example, a user may be watching a re-run of anepisode of the hit television series M*A*S*H. During an advertisementperiod or during or after the episode, the set-top box 104 can notifythe viewer of the availability of an “EXTRA” 116 related to the M*A*S*H.episode. A user can indicate interest in the merchandise by pressing abutton on the remote control 110, for example. Referring to FIG. 2, whena user has indicates interest in the merchandise, the set-top box/DVRcan display a merchandise information screen 118 on the televisionscreen to identify the merchandise as a digitally re-mastered version ofthe entire first season of the show that can be downloaded to the user'sset top box 104 or digital video recorder 114. This purchase opportunitycan be available because the merchandise is relevant to and is supportedby the user set top box/DVR equipment. Through selection options on thescreen 118, a user can elect to preview and/or buy the digitallyre-mastered M*A*S*H episodes, or to exit the screen. In one variation ofFIG. 1, a user may be browsing an interactive program guide (not shown)before, during, or after watching the episode of M*A*S*H. Theinteractive program guide can notify the user of merchandise related tothe M*A*S*H episodes. This variation is described in more detail inconnection with FIGS. 19A-19B.

As another example, FIG. 3 shows user computer equipment located in ahome or other building or facility. The computer 302 can be connected tomedia program sources through a telephone modem, a cable modem, digitalsubscriber loop technology, ISDN technology, WLAN (e.g., 802.11b/g) orbluetooth, or another available computer communication technology 304.Media programs can be received by the computer through the communicationconnection 304.

In the illustrated example, a user may be accessing and watching thesame M*A*S*H episode on a computer screen 312. During an advertisementperiod or during or after the episode, the computer 302 can notify theviewer of the availability of an “EXTRA” related to the episode. A usercan indicate interest in the merchandise by clicking on the screen icon314 with the mouse pointer 306 or by pressing a key on the keyboard 310,for example. Referring now to FIG. 4, when the user indicates interestin the merchandise, the computer can display a merchandise informationscreen 316 on the computer display screen to identify the merchandise asa computer video game based on the M*A*S*H television show that featurescharacters from the show. This purchase opportunity can be availablebecause the merchandise is relevant to and is supported by the usercomputer equipment. Through interacting with options on this screen 316,a user can elect to preview and/or buy the computer game, or to exit thescreen. In one variation of FIG. 3, a user may be browsing aninteractive program guide (not shown) before, during, or after watchingthe episode of M*A*S*H. The interactive program guide can notify theuser of merchandise related to the M*A*S*H episodes. This variation isdescribed in more detail in connection with FIGS. 19A-19B.

In another example, FIGS. 5A-5B shows mobile user equipment that canconveniently travel with a user. The illustrated user equipment includesa cellular telephone 502, a handheld/pocket PC 504, a laptop computer506, a portable gaming system 530 (e.g., Sony PSP), and mobile orportable television viewing devices 532, such as location-freetelevision consumer electronic devices or car entertainment systems thatinclude a television tuner. Each of the mobile user equipment can be incommunication with a media program source (not shown) by a suitablecommunication technology, such as a cellular communication technology,wireless LAN communication technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11b/g), bluetoothcommunication technology, or otherwise 508. Media programs can bereceived by the mobile user equipment through the communicationtechnology.

In the illustrated example, a user of the cellular telephone 502 may beaccessing and watching the same M*A*S*H episode. During an advertisementperiod or during or after the episode, the cellular telephone 502 cannotify the viewer of the availability of an “EXTRA” related to theepisode. The notification can be an icon 528 on the display screen 510,or can be a telephone vibration, which is commonly used by a cellulartelephone to get the user's attention. A user can indicate interest inthe merchandise by, for example, pressing a button 512 on the cellulartelephone. As shown in FIG. 6, when a user indicates interest in themerchandise, the cellular telephone can display a merchandiseinformation screen 522 on the telephone screen to identify themerchandise as a ring tone based on the song. This purchase opportunitycan be available because the merchandise is relevant to and is supportedby the user cellular telephone equipment. Through interacting withoptions on this screen 522, a user can elect to preview and/or buy thering tone, or to exit the screen.

Also in the illustrated example of FIG. 5, a user of the handheld PC 504may be accessing and watching the same M*A*S*H episode. During anadvertisement period or during or after the episode, the handheld PC 504can notify the user of the availability of an “EXTRA” related to theepisode. The notification can be an icon 528 on the display screen 514,as described herein. A user can indicate interest in the merchandise by,for example, pressing a button 516 on the handheld PC 504. As shown inFIG. 6, when a user indicates interest in the merchandise, the handheldPC can display a merchandise information screen 524 on the display toidentify the merchandise as a wallpaper showing characters from theM*A*S*H show. This purchase opportunity can be available because themerchandise is relevant to and is supported by the user pocket PCequipment. Through interacting with options on this screen 524, a usercan elect to preview and/or buy the wallpaper, or to exit the screen.

Also in the illustrated example of FIG. 5, a user of the laptop computer506 may be accessing and watching the same M*A*S*H episode. During anadvertisement period or during or after the episode, the laptop computer506 can notify the viewer of the availability of an “EXTRA” related tothe movie. The notification can be an icon 528 on the display screen518, as described herein. A user can indicate interest in themerchandise by clicking on the icon with a pointer 520, for example. Asshown in FIG. 6, when a user indicates interest in the merchandise, thelaptop computer can display a merchandise information screen 526 on thelaptop screen to identify the merchandise as a screen saver based oncharacters from M*A*S*H show. This purchase opportunity can be availablebecause the merchandise is relevant to and is supported by the userlaptop computer equipment. Through interacting with options on thisscreen 526, a user can elect to preview and/or buy the screen saver, orto exit the screen. The same type of operation described above inconnection with FIG. 5A also applies to the portable gaming system 530and the mobile or portable television viewing devices 532 of FIG. 5B.Those embodiments are also contemplated. Additionally, purchaseopportunities can also include opportunities to purchase user interfaceskins for a user equipment display.

In one variation of FIG. 5, a user may be browsing an interactiveprogram guide (not shown) before, during, or after watching the episodeof M*A*S*H. The interactive program guide can notify the user ofmerchandise related to the M*A*S*H episodes. This variation is describedin more detail in connection with FIGS. 19A-19B.

The following detailed description, in conjunction with FIGS. 7-26, willnow describe exemplary components, operations, and interactions of aserver/distribution facility and user equipment.

FIG. 7 shows exemplary components in an exemplary user equipment, whichcan include a set-top box or DVR with a television (FIG. 1), computerequipment (FIG. 3), and portable user equipment such as a cellulartelephone, a music/audio player, a handheld/pocket PC, and/or a PDA(FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 7, user equipment 700 can include manydifferent types of applications, such as a telephone application 702, anaudio playback application 706, video playback application 704, a gamingapplication 708, a ring tone application 710, a screen saver application712, and/or a wallpaper application 714, for example. Any applicationthat includes a user interface display may include a customizable userinterface skin. The applications in user equipment 700 can beimplemented by a combination of hardware components and softwareinstructions, using an architecture such as that shown in FIG. 29, whichwill be described later herein. FIG. 7 is exemplary, and user equipmentembodiments need not include all of the illustrated applications shownin FIG. 7. In various embodiments, user equipment may include moreapplications or less applications than those shown in FIG. 7. Forexample, television equipment (FIG. 1) may not include a telephoneapplication 702 and therefore may not include a ring tone application714. Also, a pocket PC (504, FIG. 5) may not include a screen saverapplication 712 because a pocket PC may turn off its screen to conservebattery.

As previously described herein in connection with FIGS. 1-6, userequipment can be in communication with a server/distribution facility byway of, for example, a satellite, wireline, or wireless communicationconnection (106, 108, 120 FIG. 1), an Internet connection (304, FIG. 3),and/or various wireless technologies (508, FIG. 5). A server can belocated proximate to user equipment, such as a home server in a home, orcan be located at a remote location from the user equipment, such asservers at a server farm. A server/distribution facility and itsoperation and interaction with a surrounding network will be describedin more detail later herein in connection with FIG. 27.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention and with reference toFIG. 8, a server or distribution facility 802 can include a mediaprogram 804 and merchandise information for merchandise related to themedia program 806. The server or distribution facility 802 can alsoinclude merchandise related to the media program 808, which can includeapplication-specific merchandise 812 such as video programs, audioprograms, Web content, gaming programs, wallpapers, ring tones, userinterface skins, and screen savers, for example. Additionally, a serviceprovider or another server 814 can include merchandise related to amedia program 808. As used herein, application-specific merchandise 812refers to merchandise that are used in connection with particularapplications, such as an audio playback application, a video playbackapplication, a gaming application, a screen saver application, a ringtone application, and a wallpaper application. Examples ofapplication-specific merchandise include a movie, a soundtrack, auser-interactive game, a ring tone, a wallpaper, a user interface skin,or a screen saver. Applications will be described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 9.

An application-specific merchandise according to the present inventioncan be related to a media program in many ways. For example, if themedia program has visual programming, the application-specificmerchandise can show a clip or a still image from a scene in the visualprogramming. The application-specific merchandise can be related to thecharacters or themes in the media program. For example, anapplication-specific merchandise can show characters portrayed in themedia program, and/or show logos, trademarks, brandmarks, graphicalprogram titles, thematic graphics, or other visual designs used in orassociated with the media program and/or its broadcasters or producers.If the media program includes audio programming (e.g., instrumentalmusic, vocal music, sounds of nature, speech, dialogue), then anapplication-specific merchandise related to the audio programming canplay audio that is presented by a speaker and/or a performer in theaudio programming, or can play a thematic tune or trademark sound fromthe audio programming. An application-specific merchandise can play atune that may not be a replica of the audio programming but that isbased on the audio programming.

Application-specific merchandise can be created by a programming sourceand/or by non-programming sources authorized to create the merchandise.For example, user equipment are typically designed and manufactured bymany different companies, and different user equipment may have includedifferent applications. Therefore, a manufacturer may be more proficientthan a programming source at creating application-based merchandise foruse with particular user equipment. Third party vendors who are familiarwith particular user equipment may also be more proficient at providingapplication-specific merchandise for the user equipment.

Referring again to FIG. 8, a server/distribution facility 802 and/or aservice provider 814 can include merchandise information for merchandiserelated to a media program 806. The merchandise information 806 can becreated by a programming source and/or by non-programming sourcesauthorized to create the merchandise.

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of merchandise information that is organizedinto an exemplary data structure 900. The data structure 900 includes anidentifier 902 that allows user equipment to recognize that the datastructure contains merchandise information, thereby allowing the userequipment to correctly parse the data structure fields. The datastructure includes a field 906 that identifies the type of applicationassociated with the merchandise. Each type of application can berepresented by a number. The type of application field can be set to thenumber that represents the application to used with the merchandise. Ifthe merchandise is not particular to an application, the field 906 canbe set to zero, for example. The illustrated data structure includes afield 908 that identifies the location of the merchandise. The locationfield 908 can identify an electronic repository (e.g., URL Web address)that contains many merchandise, or the location field 908 can be anelectronic address that identifies an individual merchandise.Optionally, the location field 908 can specify a physical store andaddress where the merchandise can be purchased. The data structureincludes a description field 910 that can include a description of themerchandise. The description field 910 can also include a multimediapresentation describing or advertising the merchandise, such as agraphical or video advertisement. Lastly, the data structure includes afield 912 that can identify a playback time of a portion of the mediaprogram from which the merchandise is derived. For example, a wallpapermerchandise may be a snapshot of a particular scene from a movie. Thetime at which the particular scene occurs in the movie can be identifiedin the time field 912 of the data structure. If the merchandise is notrelated to a particular time in the media program, the value of themedia program time field 912 can be set to the maximum value permittedby the field, for example.

The types of applications that can be specified by the merchandiseinformation data structure may be more specific or less specificdepending on the particular implementation. In one embodiment, the typesof applications field may be able to only differentiate at the level ofwallpaper, screen saver, user interface skin, and ring tone, forexample. In one embodiment, the types of applications field can be morespecific and may be able to further differentiate between cellulartelephone wallpaper, desktop computer wallpaper, and pocket PCwallpaper, for example. In yet another embodiment, the types ofapplications field can be even more specific and may be able todifferentiate between desktop computer wallpaper of 640×480 resolution,desktop computer wallpaper of 800×600 resolution, and desktop computerwallpaper of 1280×1024 resolution, for example. In one embodiment, thetype of applications field can differentiate between applicationversions for an operating system and application versions for differentoperating systems. For example, the type of applications field candifferentiate among Media Player for Windows, Media Player for WindowsMobile, RealPlayer for PalmOS, Acrobat Reader 4 for Windows, AcrobatReader 5 for Windows, and Acrobat Reader for PalmOS, for example.

FIG. 9 is exemplary and variations of the illustrated data structure arecontemplated. For example, the order and number of fields in the datastructure can vary according to the information needs of the userequipment. Additionally, various embodiments of merchandise informationmay not include one or more particular fields in the illustrated datastructure of FIG. 9. One skilled in the art will recognize that thereare many ways to implement a data structure.

In one embodiment, merchandise information can be associated with and/orlocated together with the media program to which it is related. In oneembodiment shown in FIG. 10, a media program can be associated with apointer 1002 that identifies the storage location of a table ofmerchandise information related to the media program 1004. Themerchandise information 1006 in stored in the table can be sorted basedon one or more fields in the merchandise information data structure. Oneskilled in the art will recognize that there are various ways toimplement a table and a sorting capability. For example, the table 1004can be implemented using a multi-dimensional linked list. In someembodiments, it may be desirable to sort the merchandise information1006 based on media program time so that merchandise information relatedto an earlier portion of the media program can appear earlier in thetable. In other embodiments, it may be desirable to sort the merchandiseinformation 1006 based on a type of application so that the type ofavailable merchandise can be more easily organized and accessed.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a distributionfacility/server can maintain merchandise information in categories thatcan have varying levels of specificity, depending on implementation. Thecategories 1102 shown in FIG. 11 are organized based on categories ofuser equipment, including a cellular telephone category of merchandiseinformation 1104, a desktop computer category of merchandise information1106, and other similar categories. A merchandise information pointer1108 associated with a media program can indicate the storage locationof the table of categories 1102. Within each category, the table caninclude pointers to particular merchandise information data structuresin a table of merchandise information 1110. Therefore, a particularmerchandise information data structure 1112 can be referenced bymultiple categories in the table of categories 1102. In this manner, themerchandise information data structures are not duplicated if they areapplicable to more than one category of user equipment. The table ofcategories 1202 in FIG. 12 is organized based on categories ofmanufacturer-specific user equipment, including a Samsung™ cellulartelephone category 1204, a Nokia™ cellular telephone category 1206, andother similar categories. As with FIG. 11, a merchandise informationpointer 1208 associated with a media program can point to the storagelocation of the table of categories 1202, and each category can includepointers to merchandise information data structures in a table ofmerchandise information. In a variation of FIGS. 11-12, a table ofcategories can be organized based on specific models user equipment (notshown), including, for example, a Nokia 1100 cellular telephonecategory, a Nokia 2600 cellular telephone category, a Nokia 3220cellular telephone category, and other similar categories. When thecategories correspond to specific device models, each category caninclude pointers to merchandise information for only applications thatare supported by a specific device model. Accordingly, in oneembodiment, the categories in a table of categories can be based onapplications that are supported by specific device models.

Referring now to FIG. 13A and in accordance with one aspect of theinvention, a distribution facility/server can receive a request for amedia program from user equipment or receive a request for merchandiseinformation related to the media program 1302. The request can, in oneembodiment, include an identifier that indicates a category to which theuser equipment belongs 1304. A distribution facility/server can access atable of categories associated with the requested media program by wayof a merchandise information pointer 1306, as shown in FIGS. 11-12.Based on the user equipment identifier, the corresponding category inthe table of categories can be accessed to select and provide theapplicable merchandise information to the user equipment 1308-1312. Inthis manner, the distribution facility/server can tailor the purchaseopportunities it provides to a user equipment by, for example, selectingpurchase opportunities based on their applicability to one category ofuser equipment.

In a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 13A, a distributionfacility/server can be in communication with many user equipment. In oneembodiment, the distribution facility/server can include anonline/networked interactive program guide that is in communication withmany user equipment. The networked interactive program guide an beoperable to receive a request for merchandise information from one userequipment, and the request can cause the networked interactive programguide to provide the merchandise information to another user equipment.For example, the server may be a home server that contains a networkedinteractive program guide. User equipment such as user computerequipment, user television equipment, or mobile/portable user equipmentcan be located in the home and can be in communication with thenetworked interactive program guide in the home server. In accordancewith one aspect of the invention, a user of the television equipment canrequest, through the networked interactive program guide, formerchandise information related to a television program and tailored toa cellular telephone to be communicated to a cellular telephone incommunication with the home server. In one embodiment, the usertelevision equipment can provide, to the networked interactive programguide, an identifier indicating a category of user equipment associatedwith the cellular telephone. Based on the cellular telephone's categoryof user equipment, the networked interactive program guide can accessmerchandise information associated with the cellular telephone'scategory of user equipment, identify a cellular telephone incommunication with the networked interactive program guide belonging tothe category of user equipment, and communicate that merchandiseinformation to the cellular telephone.

FIG. 13B shows another embodiment of a user equipment request for amedia program or for merchandise information related to a media program.A distribution facility/server can receive the request from userequipment 1314. The request can, in the illustrated embodiment, includean identifier that indicates application types that are supported by theuser equipment 1316. A distribution facility/server can access a tablemerchandise information associated with the media program by way of amerchandise information pointer 1318, as shown in FIG. 11. Based on thereceived identifier, merchandise information having supportedapplication types can be accessed and communicated to the user equipment1320-1322.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, merchandise informationcan be communicated to user equipment in various ways. If the mediaprogram is an analog signal, merchandise information can be communicatedto the user equipment in the vertical blacking interval of the analogsignal or in another suitable interval of the analog signal. In oneembodiment, the merchandise information may not be communicated withinthe media program signal and can be communicated to the user equipmentin an out-of-band analog channel. If the media program is a digitalsignal, the merchandise information can be communicated in a packetformat within the media program, or can be communicated in a packetformat separately from the media program. The merchandise informationcan be communicated in an in-band digital channel and/or in anout-of-band digital channel according to a digital communicationprotocol. One skilled in the art will recognize that existing analogand/or digital communications technologies can be used to communicatethe merchandise information to the user equipment receiving the mediaprogram.

In one aspect of the invention, when user equipment receives merchandiseinformation related to a media program, the user equipment canmaintain/store the merchandise information directly within the mediaprogram. If the media program is an analog signal, merchandiseinformation can be maintained/stored in the vertical blacking intervalof the analog signal or in another suitable interval of the analogsignal. The media program can be displayed and/or can be stored forlater presentation. The analog signal can be stored in analog format orcan be digitized and stored in digital format. If the media program is adigital signal, the merchandise information can be interleaved among themedia program information. A digital media program can be displayedand/or can be stored for later presentation.

In one aspect of the invention, when user equipment receives merchandiseinformation related to a media program, the user equipment may store themerchandise information separately from the media program. In oneembodiment, the user equipment can maintain and organize the receivedmerchandise information in accordance with FIG. 10. Additionally, asshown in FIG. 14, user equipment may reject merchandise information formerchandise that it is incapable of using. A user equipment can receivemerchandise information 1402 and can examine the “type of application”field of the merchandise information, if the field is present 1404. Theuser equipment can have a list of supported application types. If theindicated application is supported by the user equipment 1406, themerchandise information can be stored in a table 1408 according to FIG.10. Otherwise, the merchandise information is not stored

The following detailed description, in conjunction with FIGS. 15-19B,will now show various embodiments of notifying a user of theavailability of merchandise related to a media program.

The illustrated embodiment of FIG. 15 includes a display screen 1502that is displaying a media program 1504. The user equipment may havereceived merchandise information for merchandise related to the mediaprogram. If the user equipment has merchandise information, the displayscreen 1502 can provide an indication 1506 to notify the user of theavailability of merchandise related to the media program. The visualindication 1506 can be an icon, text, or another symbol, and theindication can have various display characteristics, such as a blinkingicon. The illustrated embodiment of FIG. 15 can be used to notify a userof merchandise related to the media program at a media program timespecified in the merchandise information. In one embodiment, merchandiseinformation can be stored within a media program. In one embodiment,merchandise information can be stored in a merchandise information tableaccording to FIG. 10 and can be sorted in ascending order based on themedia program time field in the merchandise information.

Referring to FIG. 16A, the user equipment 1600 in the illustratedembodiment can keep track of the time elapsed 1602 in the media programwhile the media program is being presented. The user equipment canmaintain a merchandise information table 1604 that is sorted accordingto media program time. The user equipment can keep track of a currententry 1606 in the merchandise information table. Initially, the currententry 1606 can be the first merchandise information in the table 1604. Acontrol block 1608 in the user equipment can compare the media programelapsed time 1602 to the media program time 1610 in the current entry1606 of the merchandise information table. In one embodiment, if theprogram elapsed time 1602 is greater than the media program time 1610 inthe current table entry, the user equipment can display an indication inthe display screen 1612 to notify the user of merchandise related to themedia program. In one embodiment, the displayed indication can beremoved from the display screen 1612 after a predetermined amount oftime, if the user has not provided any indication 1614 that he isinterested in the merchandise. In one embodiment, when the displayedindication is removed from the display screen 1612, the control block1608 can instruct the merchandise information table 1604 to provide thenext entry in the table.

FIG. 16B shows a variation of the user equipment of FIG. 16A whichincludes a merchandise information extractor. The merchandiseinformation extractor 1616 can extract merchandise information that iscontained in a media program, such as in a vertical blanking interval ofan analog signal or among media program data in a digital signal. Oneskilled in the art will recognize that such an extractor can beimplemented in many ways. In the illustrated embodiment, the userequipment can keep track of the most recent merchandise information 1618extracted from the media program. The control block 1608 in the userequipment can compare the media program elapsed time 1602 to the mediaprogram time 1620 in the most recently extracted merchandise information1618 to determine whether or not to notify the user of merchandiserelated to the media program. FIG. 17 shows one embodiment of theoperation of the control block of FIGS. 16A-16B. In one embodiment, theoperation of FIG. 17 can be performed by the control block periodically.

With continuing reference to FIG. 16A, as previously described herein,some merchandise may not be related to a particular scene in the mediaprogram. For such entries, the media program time field 1610 can havethe maximum value allowed by the field. Therefore, the media programtime field 1610 for such merchandise information will be greater thanthe final elapsed time 1602 at end of the media program. In oneembodiment, the media program elapsed time 1602 can provide anindication to the control block 1608 when the media program that isbeing presented has ended. When this occurs, the control block 1608 canaccess the table of merchandise information 1604 to determine if thereis a current merchandise information entry 1606. If so, a user can benotified at the end of the media program of any such remainingmerchandise information, as shown by the notification screen of FIG.18A, for example. As before, the notification screen can be removed ifthe user has not indicated interest in the merchandise after apredetermined period of time. This embodiment of the control block isshown in FIG. 18B.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a user can be notifiedof the availability of merchandise information related to a mediaprogram separately from the presentation of the media program. Referringto FIG. 19A, there is shown a display screen 1902 of an exemplaryinteractive (“EPG”) on a user equipment. The illustrated display screen1902 has shows the current date and time 1904 and also includes aprogram listings region 1906, a program description region 1908, and apicture-in-guide (PIG) program display region 1910. Interactive programguides showing a program listings region, a program description region,and/or a PIG display region are described in, for example, U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,239,794, 6,563,515, and 6,564,378, which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety.

As shown in FIG. 19A, a user can be notified of the availability ofmerchandise information related to a media program by indications shownin the interactive program guide. In one embodiment, an “EXTRA”indication can be shown in a particular program listing 1912 to indicatethat merchandise information related to the program listing isavailable. The program listing can be associated with a media programthat is scheduled to broadcast at a later time. For example, as shown inFIG. 19A, the current time is 12:44 pm and the media program “TheSopranos” is scheduled to air on channel twenty-six at 7:00 pm. Eventhough the media program is scheduled to air at a later time, theinteractive program guide can have merchandise information for the mediaprogram by requesting and receiving merchandise information inaccordance with FIGS. 13-14. The merchandise information can beorganized in a table according to FIG. 10. In one embodiment, an “EXTRA”indication can be shown in the program description region 1908 toindicate that merchandise information related to the described programis available. FIG. 19B shows a display screen of a cellular telephonethat is using an interactive program guide. The interactive programguide of FIG. 19B can also provide an “EXTRA” indication to notify auser that merchandise information related to a media program isavailable. In general, the interactive program guides shown in FIGS. 19Aand 19B can reside on any type of user equipment.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, merchandise informationfor merchandise related to a media program can be tailored to aparticular physical location. Referring to FIG. 20, some mobile userequipment can include location determination technologies such as globalpositioning system (“GPS”) 2002. Other mobile user equipment may notinclude location determination technologies, but their location can bedetermined by a network 2004 with which they are communicating.Typically, such networks include multiple communication sites 2004 thatcan collectively employ location triangulation technologies to locatethe user equipment 2006.

As previously described herein in connection with FIG. 9, the locationfield of a merchandise information data structure can identify anelectronic location of an electronic merchandise or a physical locationof a physical merchandise. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21A, atable of merchandise information can organize the merchandiseinformation into separate groups that include a group of electronicmerchandise 2104 and a group of physical merchandise 2106.

In one embodiment, the user equipment 2108 and/or the source of themedia program 2102 (e.g., a distribution facility) can determine thelocation of the user equipment 2108 and can share the locationinformation with each other. The source of the media program 2102 canlimit the communication of physically located merchandise information2106 to only those that satisfy one or more location criteria 2110. Forexample, the source of the media program 2102 can limit thecommunication of physically located merchandise information 2106 to onlythose that are located in the same zip code or within one neighboringzip code of the location of the user equipment 2108, or to those thatare located within a particular radius of the location of the userequipment 2108. The media program source can obtain updates on thelocation of the user equipment 2108. This embodiment of the operation ofa media program source 2102 is shown in FIG. 22.

In one embodiment, the user equipment 2108 can also maintain a table ofmerchandise information for physical merchandise 2106 and can maintainone or more location criteria 2110. In this embodiment, the userequipment 2108 can request and receive all or a portion of themerchandise information for physical merchandise 2106 from the mediaprogram source 2102. The user equipment 2108 can process its own tableof merchandise information 2102 to select the merchandise information2106 that meet its location criterion 2110.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21B, a table of merchandiseinformation for physical merchandise can include default merchandiseinformation 2112 as well as localized merchandise information 2114,2116. The localized merchandise information 2114, 2116 can correspond toparticular physical locations, such as a zip code, for example. In theillustrated embodiment, one localized merchandise information 2114corresponds to a zip code of “10012”, and another located merchandiseinformation 2116 corresponds to a zip code of “10030”. Therefore, if auser equipment is within those zip codes, the localized merchandiseinformation 2114, 2116 corresponding to those zip codes can be madeavailable to a user. However, if a user equipment is in an area that hasno localized merchandise information, the default merchandiseinformation 2112 can be made available to a user. The defaultmerchandise information 2112 and the localized merchandise information2116 can be implemented according to the data structure of FIG. 9.

With continuing reference to FIG. 21B, the user equipment canperiodically or continuously determine its location if the userequipment is GPS-enabled, or the user equipment can request for thenetwork to triangulate the user equipment's location, and thetriangulated location can be communicated to the user equipment. Thisembodiment of the operation of the user equipment is shown in FIG. 23.The user equipment can notify the user of the availability ofmerchandise related to the media program being presented in accordancewith FIGS. 15-19.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a user can benotified of the availability of physical merchandise related to a mediaprogram by an advertisement, as shown in FIGS. 24A-24C. In oneembodiment, a media program may have time segments that are designatedfor advertisements, or the user equipment may be configured toperiodically pause the media program in order to present anadvertisement. In such an embodiment, the user equipment can notify theuser of the availability of physical merchandise related to a mediaprogram in an advertisement, such as an advertisement 2402 is shown inFIG. 24A. In one embodiment, the advertisement 2402 can be based on themerchandise description field of the merchandise information datastructure (910, FIG. 9). As described above herein, a description field(910, FIG. 9) can contain multimedia content, such as video, graphics,and/or text. The merchandise information can be stored in a tableaccording to FIG. 10. The table can be located at the user equipment orat a server/distribution facility. The merchandise information may ormay not be related to the media program that is paused to show theadvertisement. However, as described above herein, the merchandiseinformation can be selected based on the location of the user equipmentand a location criterion. Additionally, the user equipment or theserver/distribution facility can select the particular merchandiseinformation to show based on various business models. For example,merchandise vendors can pay advertisement fees to give their merchandiseinformation priority over others. The merchandise information may bedefault merchandise information (2112, FIG. 21B) or localizedmerchandise information (2114, 2116, FIG. 21B).

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a user can benotified of the availability of physical merchandise related to a mediaprogram by an advertisement sponsor notice 2404. In one embodiment, theadvertisement 2406 need not be related to the media program that isbeing shown, but the sponsor notice 2404 and the advertisement 2406 canboth be related to a media program. For example, as shown in FIG. 24B,an advertisement 2406 for the television program M*A*S*H can be shown,and a sponsor notice 2404 related to M*A*S*H can also be shown. In oneembodiment, the sponsor notice 2404 can be based on the merchandisedescription field (910, FIG. 9) of a merchandise information datastructure. As described above herein, the merchandise information can beselected based on the location of the user equipment and a locationcriterion. The merchandise information may be default merchandiseinformation (2112, FIG. 21B) or localized merchandise information (2114,2116, FIG. 21B).

In another embodiment, a user can be notified of the availability ofmerchandise information in an advertisement region of an interactiveprogram guide, as shown in FIG. 24C. The display screen 2408 shown inFIG. 24C shows one embodiment of an interactive program guide thatincludes one or more selectable advertisement regions 2410 in additionto the interactive program guide of FIG. 19A. In one embodiment, theinteractive program guide can notify a user of the availability ofmerchandise information by displaying the description field (910, FIG.9) of merchandise information in an advertisement area 2410. Asdescribed above herein, the merchandise information can be selectedbased on the location of the user equipment and a location criterion.Additionally, the interactive program guide or the server/distributionfacility can select the particular merchandise information to show inthe advertisement region 2410 based on various business models. Forexample, merchandise vendors can pay advertisement fees to have theirmerchandise information displayed as an advertisement at regularintervals.

The following detailed description, in conjunction with FIGS. 25-26,will describe operations for interacting with a user who has indicatedan interest in a merchandise related to a media program.

As previously described herein in connection with FIGS. 15 and 18, auser can be notified of merchandise related to a media program. In oneembodiment, a user can indicate interest in the merchandise by clickingon the indication displayed on the screen if the user equipment has apointer user interface, or by pressing a user interface buttonassociated with the displayed indication.

With reference to FIG. 25, in one embodiment, the user equipment canrespond to the user indication of interest by presenting, on a displayscreen 2502, a description of the merchandise (910, FIG. 9) and byproviding options for the user to preview the merchandise 2506, purchasethe merchandise 2508, or return to the media program 2510. In oneembodiment, the preview and purchase selections 2506,2508 can beavailable only if the merchandise is electronically located and can beaccessed by the user equipment. In one embodiment, if the user selectsthe “PREVIEW” selection 2506, the user equipment can access themerchandise at the electronic location specified in the merchandiseinformation and can present the merchandise to the user. In oneembodiment, if the user selects the “BUY NOW” selection 2508, the userequipment can communicate with a shopping service of a service providerto transact the purchase, as described in connection with FIG. 1. In oneembodiment, if the user selects the “EXIT” selection 2510, the displayscreen of FIG. 25 can be removed and the display screen can return todisplaying the media program or otherwise. The display screen can alsoprovide the user with options to view other merchandise information byproviding interactive arrows 2512. When an arrow 2512 is selected, thetable of merchandise information can access another merchandiseinformation data structure and provide the corresponding merchandisedescription to the display screen. FIG. 26 illustrates a display screenwhich shows that the merchandise is not available for electronic accessand which has disabled the “PREVIEW” and “BUY NOW” selections.

In one embodiment, the screens of FIGS. 25 and 26 can be overlays thatcover the media program being presented. When a user selects the “EXIT”selection, the overlay can be removed to show the media program.Variations of the illustrated overlays are contemplated. For example,the overlay can cover only part of the display screen rather than theentire display screen, or the overlay can be translucent.

In one embodiment, if the media program is not being presented inreal-time and it is possible to pause the media program, the userequipment can pause the presentation of the media program to allow theuser to pursue interest in the merchandise related to the media programwithout missing a portion of the media program.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the foregoing systems,devices, and methods described herein can be implemented in aninteractive media guidance system. An illustrative interactive mediaguidance system 2700 in accordance with the present invention is shownin FIG. 27. System 2700 is intended to illustrate a number of approachesby which media of various types, and guidance for such media, may beprovided to (and accessed by) various types of user equipment. Thepresent invention, however, may be applied in systems employing any oneor a subset of these approaches, or in systems employing otherapproaches for delivering media and providing media guidance.

The first approach represents a typical television-centric system inwhich users may access television (and in some systems music)programming. This includes programming sources 2702 and distributionfacility 2704. Media such as television programming and digital music isprovided from programming sources 2702 to distribution facility 2704,using communications path 2706. Communications path 2706 may be asatellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or any other suitablewired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths.

Programming sources 2702 may be any suitable sources of television andmusic programming, such as television broadcasters (e.g., NBC, ABC, andHBO) or other television or music production studios. Programmingsources 2702 may provide television programming in a variety of formatsin high definition and standard definition, such as, for example, 1080p,1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and any other suitable format.

Distribution facility 2704 (also represented as 802, FIG. 8) may be acable system headend, a satellite television distribution facility, atelevision broadcaster, or any other suitable facility for distributingvideo media (e.g., television programs, video-on-demand programs,pay-per-view programs) and audio media (e.g., music programming andmusic clips) to the equipment of subscribers of the corresponding cable,satellite, or IPTV system, such as the user equipment of FIGS. 1-6. Insome approaches, distribution facility 2704 (also represented as 802,FIG. 8) may also distribute merchandise information and/or electronicmerchandise to users, such as video and audio clips, web pages, gamingapplications, ring tones, wallpapers, screen savers, user interfaceskins, and interactive applications. There are typically numeroustelevision distribution facilities 2704 in system 2700, but only one isshown in FIG. 27 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Distribution facility 2704 (also represented as 802, FIG. 8) may beconnected to various user equipment devices 2708, 2710, and 2712, suchas the user equipment of FIGS. 1-6. Such user equipment devices may belocated, for example, in the homes of users. User equipment devices mayinclude user television equipment 2710, user computer equipment 2712, orany other type of user equipment suitable for accessing media, such asthe user equipment of FIGS. 1-6. User equipment 2708 may be any type ofuser equipment (e.g., user television equipment, user computerequipment, cellular phones, handheld video players, gaming platforms,etc.) and, for simplicity, user equipment devices may be referred togenerally as user equipment 2708.

User equipment devices 2708, 2710, and 2712 (e.g., FIGS. 1-6) mayreceive media (such as television, music, web pages, etc.) and otherdata, such as merchandise information and electronic merchandise fromFIG. 8, from distribution facility 2704 (also represented as 802, FIG.8) over communications paths, such as communications paths 2714, 2716,and 2718, respectively. User equipment devices 2708, 2710, 2712 may alsotransmit signals to distribution facility 2704 over paths 2714, 2716,and 2718, respectively, where the signals can be associated withoperations 1302, 1304 from FIG. 13. Paths 2714, 2716, and 2718 may becables or other wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., forbroadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, or any othersuitable link or combination of links.

A second approach illustrated in FIG. 27 by which media and mediaguidance are provided to end users is a non-television-centric approach.In this approach media such as video (which may include televisionprogramming), audio, images, web pages, or a suitable combinationthereof, are provided to equipment of a plurality of users (e.g., userequipment 2708, user television equipment 2710, and user computerequipment 2712) by server 2730 (also represented as 802, FIG. 8) viacommunications network 2726. This approach is non-television-centricbecause media (e.g., television programming) is provided by anddelivered at least partially, and sometimes exclusively, via equipmentthat have not traditionally been primarily focused on the televisionviewing experience. Non-television-centric equipment is playing a largerrole in the television viewing experience.

In some embodiments for this approach, communications network 2726 isthe Internet. Server 2730 (also represented as 802, 814, FIG. 8) mayprovide for example, a web site that is accessible to the user'sequipment (e.g., equipment of FIGS. 1-6) and provides an on-lineguidance application for the user. In such approaches, the user'sequipment may be, for example, a PC or a hand-held device such as a PDAor web-enabled cellular telephone that incorporates a web browser (e.g.,equipment of FIG. 5). In other embodiments, server 2730 (alsorepresented as 802, FIG. 8) uses the Internet as a transmission mediumbut does not use the Web. In such approaches, the user's equipment mayrun a client application that enables the user to access media. In stillother approaches, communications network 2726 is a privatecommunications network, such as a cellular phone network, that does notinclude the Internet.

In yet other approaches, communications network 2726 includes a privatecommunications network and the Internet. For example, a cellulartelephone or other mobile-device service provider may provide Internetaccess to its subscribers via a private communications network, or mayprovide media such as video clips or television programs to itssubscribers via the Internet and its own network.

The aforementioned approaches for providing media may, in someembodiments, be combined. For example, a distribution facility 2704(also represented as 802, FIG. 8) may provide a television-centric mediadelivery system, while also providing users' equipment (e.g., 2708, 2710and 2712) with access to other non-television-centric delivery systemsprovided by server 2730. For example, a user's equipment may include aweb-enabled set-top box (e.g., 104, FIG. 1) or a television enabled PC(e.g., 302, FIG. 3). Distribution facility 2704 may, in addition totelevision and music programming, provide the user with Internet accesswhereby the user may access server 2730 via communications network 2726.Distribution facility 2704 may communicate with communications network2726 over any suitable path 2734, such as a wired path, a cable path,fiber-optic path, satellite path, or combination of such paths.

Media guidance applications may be provided using any approach suitablefor the type of media and server/distribution system for which theapplications are used. Media guidance applications may be, for example,stand alone applications implemented on users' equipment. In otherembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only the client resides on the users' equipment. Instill other embodiments, guidance applications may be provided as websites accessed by a browser implemented on the users' equipment. Theexemplary user equipment of FIGS. 1-6 may use one or more such mediaguidance applications. Whatever the chosen implementation, the guidanceapplication will require information about the media for which it isproviding guidance. For example, titles or names of media, briefdescriptions, or other information may be necessary to allow users tonavigate among and find desired media selections.

In some television-centric embodiments, for example, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel). Data source 2720 in system 2700 may include a program listingsdatabase that is used to provide the user with televisionprogram-related information such as scheduled broadcast times, titles,channels, ratings information (e.g., parental ratings and critic'sratings), detailed title descriptions, genre or category information(e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.), program format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition) and information on actors and actresses.Data source 2720 may also be used to provide advertisements and/ormerchandise information (806, FIG. 8; 900, FIG. 9) (e.g., program guideadvertisements and advertisements for other interactive televisionapplications), real-time data such as sports scores, stock quotes, newsdata, and weather data, application data for one or more media guidanceapplications or other interactive applications, electronic merchandise(808, FIG. 8), and any other suitable data for use by system 2700. Asanother example, data source 2720 may provide data indicating the typesof information that may be included in interactive media guidanceoverlays (e.g., at the request of the user, absent user modification,etc.).

Program guide data such as media programs or merchandise information maybe provided to user equipment, including user equipment located on homenetwork 2713, using any suitable approach. For example, program scheduledata and other data such as merchandise information or electronicmerchandise may be provided to the user equipment on a televisionchannel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of a televisionchannel, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digitalsignal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique. Programschedule data and other data may be provided to user equipment onmultiple analog or digital television channels. Program schedule dataand other data may be provided to the user equipment with any suitablefrequency (e.g., continuously, daily, in response to a request from userequipment, etc.). Program schedule data or merchandise information canbe provided to user equipment from a home server (also represented as802, FIG. 8) on the home network 2713. The home server can be incommunication with a distribution facility 2704 or a communicationsnetwork 2726.

In some television-centric embodiments, guidance data from data source2720 may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach.For example, a guidance application client residing on the user'sequipment may initiate sessions with server 2740 to obtain guidance datawhen needed. In some embodiments, the guidance application may initiatesessions with server 2740 via a home network server (e.g., a serverlocated in home network 2713 that supports the user equipment deviceslocated in home network 2713).

There may be multiple data sources (such as data source 2720) in system2700, although only one data source is shown in FIG. 27 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. For example, a separate data source may beassociated with each of a plurality of television broadcasters and mayprovide data that is specific to those broadcasters (e.g.,advertisements for future programming of the broadcasters, logo data fordisplaying broadcasters' logos in program guide display screens, etc.).

Data source 2720 and any other system components of FIG. 27 may beprovided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems componentsare drawn as single boxes in FIG. 27 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawings.

Data source 2720 may provide data to distribution facility 2704 overcommunications path 2722 for distribution to the associated userequipment and home network 2713 (discussed below) over paths 2714, 2716,2718, and 2719 (e.g., when data source 2720 is located at a mainfacility). Communications path 2722 may be any suitable communicationspath such as a satellite communications path or other wireless path, afiber-optic or other wired communications path, a path that supportsInternet communications, or other suitable path or combination of suchpaths.

In some television-centric and non-television centric approaches, datasource 2720 may provide guidance data directly to user equipment 2708over path 2724, communications network 2726, and path 2728 (e.g., whendata source 2720 is located at a facility such as one of programmingsources 2702). In some embodiments of the present invention, data source2720 may provide guidance data directly to user equipment (e.g., FIGS.1-6) located on home network 2713 (discussed below) over path 2724,communications network 2726, and path 2739 (e.g., when data source 2720is located at a facility such as one of programming sources 2702). Paths2724, 2728, and 2739 may be wired paths such as telephone lines, cablepaths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, wireless paths, any othersuitable paths or a combination of such paths. Communications network2726 may be any suitable communications network, such as the Internet,the public switched telephone network, or a packet-based network.

User equipment devices, including user equipment devices located on homenetwork 2713 (discussed below), such as user television equipment (e.g.,FIG. 1) and personal computers (e.g., FIG. 3), may use the programschedule data and other interactive media guidance application data todisplay program listings and other information such as merchandiseinformation for the user. An interactive television program guideapplication or other suitable interactive media guidance application maybe used to display the information on the user's display (e.g., in oneor more overlays that are displayed on top of video for a giventelevision channel). Interactive displays (e.g., FIG. 25) may begenerated and displayed for the user using any suitable approach. In onesuitable approach, distribution facility 2704, server 2730, or anotherfacility, may generate application display screens and may transmit thedisplay screens to user equipment for display. In another suitableapproach, user equipment may store data and merchandise information(FIGS. 9-10) for use in one or more interactive displays (e.g., FIG.25), and an interactive media guidance application implemented at leastpartially on the user equipment may generate the interactive displaysbased on instructions received from distribution facility 2704, server2730 (802, FIG. 8) or another facility. In some embodiments of thepresent invention, user equipment (e.g., equipment of FIGS. 1-6) maystore only the data that is used to generate the interactive televisiondisplays (e.g., storing merchandise information, storing logo data for aparticular television broadcaster only if the logo is to be included inone or more interactive television displays). In some embodiments of thepresent invention, user equipment may store data that is not necessarilyused to generate the interactive television displays (e.g., storingadvertisements associated with a particular television broadcaster thatmay or may not be displayed depending on, for example, the outcome ofnegotiations with the television broadcaster). Any other suitableapproach or combination of approaches may be used to generate anddisplay interactive overlays, such as the overlays shown in FIGS. 2, 4,6, and 25-26, for the user.

In still other embodiments, interactive media guidance applications(television-centric and non-television centric) may be provided onlineas, for example, websites. For example, server 2730 (also represented as802, FIG. 8) may provide an online interactive television program guide.As another example, user equipment 2708 (e.g., FIG. 5) may be a mobiledevice, such as a cellular telephone or personal digital assistant(PDA). The mobile device may be web-enabled to allow the user to accessan on-line guidance application (which may be modified from its originalversion to make it appropriate for a cellular phone). Alternatively, themobile device may have an applet that communicates with server 2730 toobtain guidance data via the Internet.

Server 2730 (also represented as 802, FIG. 8) may receive programschedule data and other data (e.g., merchandise information, electronicmerchandise) from data source 2720 via communications path 2724,communications network 2726, and communications path 2732 or via anothersuitable path or combination of paths. Path 2732 may be a satellitepath, fiber-optic path, wired path, or any other path or combination ofpaths. User equipment 2708 may access the on-line interactive mediaguidance application and other sources from server 2730 viacommunications path 2728. User equipment 2708 may also access theapplication and other services on server 2730 via communications path2714, distribution facility 2704, and communications path 2734. Forexample, a cable modem or other suitable equipment may be used by userequipment 2708 to communicate with distribution facility 2704.

User equipment such as user television equipment 2710 (also shown inFIG. 1), user computer equipment 2712 (also shown in FIG. 3), and userequipment located on home network 2713 may access the on-lineinteractive media guidance application and server 2730 (also representedas 802, FIG. 8) using similar arrangements. User television equipment2710 may access the on-line interactive media guidance application andserver 2730 using communications path 2736 or using path 2716,distribution facility 2704, and path 2734. User computer equipment 2712may access the on-line interactive media guidance application and server2730 using communications path 2738 or using path 2718, distributionfacility 2704, and path 2734. User equipment located on home network2713 may access the on-line media guidance application and server 2730using communications path 2739 or using path 2719, distribution facility2704, and path 2734. Paths 2736, 2738, and 2739 may be any suitablepaths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, wirelesspaths, satellite paths, or a combination of such paths.

In some embodiments, system 2700 may support other interactiveapplications in addition to the interactive media guidance applications.Such applications may be implemented using any suitable approach. Forexample, the interactive applications may be implemented locally on theuser equipment or in a distributed fashion (e.g., using a client-serverarchitecture in which the user equipment serves at least partly, and forat least some of the time, as the client and a server, such as server2740 at distribution facility 2704, server 2730, or other suitableequipment acts as the server). Other distributed architectures may alsobe used if desired. Moreover, some or all of the features of theinteractive applications of system 2700 (including the media guidanceapplication) may be provided using operating system software ormiddleware software. Such operating system software and middleware maybe used instead of or in combination with application-level software. Inyet other approaches, interactive applications may also be supported byservers or other suitable equipment at one or more service providerssuch as service provider 2742. Regardless of the particular arrangementused, the software that supports these features may be referred to as anapplication or applications.

For example, an interactive application such as a shopping service maybe supported by a service provider (also represented as 814, FIG. 8)such as service provider 2742 that has sales representatives, orderfulfillment facilities, account maintenance facilities, and otherequipment for supporting interactive home shopping features. A shoppingapplication that is implemented using the user equipment (e.g. equipmentof FIGS. 1-6) may be used to access the service provider to provide suchfeatures to the user. The user equipment may access service provider2742 via distribution facility 2704 and communications path 2744 or viacommunications network 2726 and communications path 2746. Communicationspaths such as paths 2744 and 2746 may be any suitable paths such aswired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, or acombination of such paths.

Another example of an interactive application is a home bankingapplication. A home banking service may be supported using personnel atfacilities such as service provider 2742. An interactive home bankingapplication that is implemented using the user equipment may access thehome banking service via distribution facility 2704 and communicationspath 2744 or via communications network 2726 and communications path2746.

If desired, an interactive media guidance application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 2740, server 2730, a home network server, orequipment at service provider 2742, such as the equipment 802, 814 ofFIG. 8. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement may be stored on server 2740 or server 2730or a home network server or at service provider 2742 (also representedas 802, FIG. 8) and may be provided to the user equipment when requestedby users. An interactive television program guide, for example, may beused to support the functions of a personal video recorder (sometimescalled a digital video recorder) that is implemented using userequipment 2708. Illustrative equipment that may be used to supportpersonal video recorder functions include specialized personal videorecorder devices, integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxeswith integrated or external hard drives, or personal computers withvideo recording capabilities.

Interactive applications such as media guidance applications (e.g.,interactive television program guide applications and video-on-demandapplications), shopping applications, home banking applications, gameapplications, and other applications (e.g., applications related toe-mail and chat or other communications functions, etc.) may be providedas separate applications that are accessed through a navigation shellapplication (i.e., a menu application with menu options corresponding tothe applications). The features of such applications may be combined.For example, games, video-on-demand services, home shopping services,network-based video recorder functions, personal video recorderfunctions, navigational functions, program guide functions,communications functions, and other suitable functions may be providedusing one application or any other suitable number of applications. Theone or more applications may display various overlays on user equipmentincluding, for example, interactive television information on top ofvideo for a given television channel.

Interactive television program guide applications, home bankingapplications, shopping applications, network-based video recorder andpersonal video recorder applications, video-on-demand applications,gaming applications, communications applications, and navigationalapplications are only a few illustrative examples of the types ofinteractive media guidance and other applications that may be supportedby system 2700. Other suitable interactive applications that may besupported include news services, web browsing and other Internetservices, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horseraces, sporting events, and the like). Interactive television overlaysthat are displayed by these applications may also be customized inaccordance with the present invention.

Users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they accessmedia and obtain media guidance (e.g., user equipment of FIGS. 1-6). Forexample, some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-homeand mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 27, home network 2713 communicateswith distribution facility 2704 and server 2730 (also represented as802, FIG. 8) over paths 2719 and 2739 (and, in the case of server 2730,communications network 2726). Such home networks 2713 may be located,for example, in homes of users or distributed, for example, among homesof users. Home networks 2713 may each include a plurality ofinterconnected user equipment devices, such as, for example userequipment devices 2708, 2710 and 2712. In some embodiments, users maycontrol in-home devices via a media guidance application implemented ona remote device. For example, users may access an online media guidanceapplication on a website via a personal computer at their office, or amobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone. The usermay set settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on theon-line guidance application to control the user's in-home equipment.The on-line guide may control the user's equipment directly, or bycommunicating with a media guidance application on the user's in-homeequipment, such as a home server (also represented as 802, FIG. 8). Userequipment and devices can be the equipment shown in FIGS. 1-6.

FIGS. 1-6 show illustrative arrangements for the user equipmentdescribed in the interactive guidance system 2700 of FIG. 27. Anillustrative set-top box-based arrangement for user equipment 2710 isshown in FIG. 1. User television equipment 2710 may be stand-alone or apart of home network 2713 (FIG. 27). Input/output 106, 108 may beconnected to communications paths such as paths 2716 and 2736 (FIG. 27).Input/output functions may be provided by one or more wires orcommunications paths. Television programming, program guide data,merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and any other suitableinteractive media guidance application data or other data may bereceived using input/output 106,108. Commands and requests and otherdata generated as a result of user interactions with the interactivemedia guidance application may also be transmitted over input/output106,108.

Set-top box 104 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 104 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., a channelcomprising television programming, interactive television data, orboth). Set-top box 104 may also contain digital decoding circuitry forreceiving digital television channels (e.g., channels comprisingtelevision or music programming, interactive television data, etc.).Set-top box 104 may also contain a high-definition television tuner forreceiving and processing high-definition television channels. Analog,digital, and high-definition channels may be handled together ifdesired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handle simultaneouswatch and record functions or picture-in-picture (PIP) functions). Box104 may be an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellitetelevision. If desired, box 104 may have circuitry for handling cable,over-the-air broadcast, and satellite content.

Set-top box 104 may be configured to output media, such as televisionprograms, in a preferred format. Because media programs may be receivedin a variety of formats, set-top box 104 may contain scaler circuitryfor upconverting and downconverting media programs into the preferredoutput format used by set-top box 104 and/or user equipment such asthose in FIGS. 1-6. For example, set-top box 104 may be configured tooutput television programs in 720p. In this example, the scalercircuitry may upconvert standard-definition television programs having480 lines of vertical resolution to 720p format and downconvert certainhigh-definition television programs having 1080 lines of verticalresolution to 720p format.

Box 104 may include a storage device (e.g., a digital storage devicesuch as a hard disk drive) for providing recording capabilities. Box 104may also be connected to a recording device 114 such as a video cassetterecorder, personal video recorder, optical disc recorder, or otherdevice or devices with storage capabilities. In some embodiments, box104 may be configured to record either standard-definition televisionprograms or high-definition television programs. In some embodiments,box 104 may be configured to record both standard-definition televisionprograms and high-definition television programs.

Set-top box 104 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications and/or present merchandise opportunities as shown in FIGS.14, 17, 19, and 23. Set-top box 104 may contain memory such asrandom-access memory for use with executing applications or presentingmerchandise opportunities, or storing data or data structures such asthose shown in FIG. 9-10. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., tolaunch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Hard disk storage inbox 104 or in recording device 114 may be used to back up data (e.g.,merchandise information, electronic merchandise) and to otherwisesupport larger databases and storage requirements than may be supportedusing random-access memory approaches. Hard disk storage in box 104 orin recording device 114 may also be used to store and back up programguide settings, saved user preferences, merchandise information, and/orelectronic merchandise.

Set-top box 104 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 104 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 104 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem forcommunications with other equipment and/or a server/distributionfacility as shown in FIG. 8. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Ifdesired, the components of set-top box 104 may be integrated into otheruser equipment (e.g., a television or videocassette recorder).

Recording device 114 may be used to record videos provided by set-topbox 104. For example, if set-top box 104 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 114 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device. Insome embodiments, recording device 114 may be configured to recordeither standard-definition television programs or high-definitiontelevision programs. In some embodiments, recording device 114 may beconfigured to record both standard-definition television programs andhigh-definition television programs. Recording device 114 may havecommunications circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSLmodem, or a telephone modem for communications with other equipment.Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths. The components of recording device 114may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a television, stereoequipment, etc.).

Recording device 114 may be controlled using a remote control 110 orother suitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions suchas start, stop, record and other functions for device 114 may becontrolled by set-top box 104. For example, set-top box 104 may controlrecording device 114 using infrared commands directed toward the remotecontrol inputs of recording device 114 or set-top box 104 may controlrecording device 114 using other wired or wireless communications pathsbetween box 104 and device 114.

The output of recording device 114 may be provided to television 102 fordisplay to the user (not shown). In some embodiments, television 102 maybe capable of displaying high-definition programming (i.e.,HDTV-capable). If desired, multiple recording devices 206 or norecording device 114 may be used. If recording device 114 is not presentor is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box 104may be provided directly to television 102. Any suitable television ormonitor may be used to display the video. For example, if the video isin a high-definition format, an HDTV-capable television or monitor isrequired to display the video. In the equipment of FIG. 1 and the otherequipment of system 2700 (FIG. 27), the audio associated with variousvideo items is typically distributed with those video items and isgenerally played back to the user as the videos are played. In someembodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown),which processes and outputs the audio via external speakers (not shown).

In one variation of the user television equipment 2710 (FIG. 27) shownin FIG. 1, user television equipment 2710 may be stand-alone or a partof home network 2713 (FIG. 27). In one example, user televisionequipment 2710 may include a recording device 114 such as a digitalvideo recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a harddisk or other storage for recording video or for storing merchandiseinformation and electronic merchandise. Recording device 114 mayalternatively be a digital video disc recorder, compact disc recorder,videocassette recorder, or other suitable recording device (not shown).Equipment 2710 of FIG. 1 may also include a television 102. In someembodiments, television 102 may be HDTV-capable. Input/output 106,108may be connected to communications paths such as paths 2716 and 2736(FIG. 27). Television programming, program schedule data, merchandiseinformation, electronic merchandise, and other data (e.g., advertisementdata, data indicating one or more television channels for which thedisplay of an overlay is to be customized, etc.) may be received usinginput/output 106,108. Commands and requests and other data such as auser equipment identifier (1304, FIG. 13) or location information (asshown in FIGS. 22-23) from the user may be transmitted over input/output106,108.

Recording device 114 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel (e.g., to display video for a giventelevision channel to a user, to receive program guide data and otherdata) and multiple other tuners may also be provided. Recording device114 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digitaltelevision programming, music programming, program guide data,merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and other data on oneor more digital channels. Recording device 114 may also containcircuitry for receiving high-definition television channels. If desired,recording device 114 may contain circuitry for handling analog, digital,and high-definition channels. Recording device 114 also contains aprocessor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) thatis used to execute software applications. Recording device 114 maycontain memory such as random-access memory for use when executingapplications and/or performing purchase opportunity operations such asthose shown in FIGS. 14, 17, 19, 23. Nonvolatile memory may also be usedto store a boot-up routine or other instructions. The hard disk andother storage in recording device 114 may be used to support databases(e.g., program guide databases or other interactive televisionapplication databases). The hard disk or other storage in recordingdevice 114 may also be used to record video such as television programsor video-on-demand content or other content provided to recording device114 over input/output 106,108.

Recording device 114 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 114 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 114 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, or awireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or other suitable communicationsnetworks or paths.

If desired, recording device 114 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 114 of FIG. 1 may record new media programs whilepreviously recorded media programs are being played back on television102. This allows users to press a pause button during normal televisionviewing. When the pause button is pressed, the current media program isstored on the hard disk of digital video recorder 114. When the userpresses play, the recorded the media program may be played back. Thisarrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resume televisionviewing. Recording device 114 may also be used to allow a user to watcha previously-recorded program while simultaneously recording a newprogram.

The set-top box arrangement 104 of FIG. 1 and the personal videorecorder with a built-in set-top box variation 114 are merelyillustrative. Other arrangements may be used if desired. For example,user television equipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personalcomputer television (PC/TV) (e.g., equipment of FIG. 3), or any othersuitable television equipment arrangement. If desired, the functions ofcomponents such as set-top box 204, recording device 302, a WebTV box,or PC/TV or the like may be integrated into a television or personalcomputer or other suitable device, such as the devices of FIG. 5.

An illustrative remote control 2800 for operating user televisionequipment 2710 (FIG. 27) or suitable user computer equipment 2712 isshown in FIG. 28. Remote control 2800 is only illustrative and any othersuitable user input interface may be used to operate user equipment(e.g., a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, voicerecognition system, etc.). Remote control 2800 may have function keys2802 and other keys 2804 such as keypad keys, power on/off keys, pause,stop, fast-forward and reverse keys. Volume up and down keys 2806 may beused for adjusting the volume of the audio portion of a video. Channelup and down keys 2808 may be used to change television channels and toaccess content on virtual channels. Cursor keys 2810 may be used tonavigate on-screen menus or interactively displays, such as those shownin FIGS. 25-26. For example, cursor keys 2810 may be used to position anon-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes all genericallyreferred to herein as a highlight or highlight region) to indicateinterest in a particular option (e.g., 2506-2512, FIG. 25) or other itemon a display screen that is displayed by the interactive televisionapplication.

OK key 2812 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted. In oneembodiment, the OK key 2812 can be used to indicate interest in apurchase opportunity. For example, when an “EXTRA” icon (1506, FIG. 15)appears on a display screen, a user can press the OK key 2812 toindicate interest in seeing a description of the related merchandise. Inresponse, an interactive screen such as that shown in FIG. 25 canappear.

Keys 2802 may include RECORD key 2814 for initiating recordings. MENUbutton 2816 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., ontelevision 208 or 304 or on a suitable monitor or computer display).INFO button 2818 may be used to direct an interactive media guidanceapplication to display an information display screen. For example, whena user presses INFO key 2818 while video for a given television channelis displayed for the user, an interactive television program guide maydisplay a FLIP/BROWSE overlay including program schedule information forthe current program on the given television channel on top of the video.As another example, when a particular program listing in an interactivetelevision program listings display screen is highlighted, the userpressing INFO button 2818 may cause an interactive television programguide to provide additional program information associated with thatprogram listing (e.g., a program description, actor information,schedule information, etc.). In one example, when an “EXTRA” icon (e.g.,1506, FIG. 15) is displayed, pressing the INFO button 2818 may cause theinteractive screen of FIG. 25 to appear.

LOCK button 2820 may be used to modify access privileges. For example, aparent may use LOCK button 2820 or on-screen options to establishparental control settings for the interactive media guidanceapplication. The parental control settings may be time-based settings(e.g., to prevent a child from watching television during a particulartime block, such as from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). The parental controlsettings may also be used to, for example, block programming based onrating, channel, and program title. A locked or blocked program (orother media) is typically not viewable until the interactive mediaguidance application is provided with a suitable personal identificationnumber (PIN). Once this PIN has been entered, the interactive mediaguidance application will unlock the user's equipment and allow thelocked content to be accessed.

EXIT button 2822 may be used to exit the interactive media guidanceapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive media guidanceapplication (e.g., to cause an interactive television program guide toremove a FLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive television overlay from thedisplay screen). In one example, the EXIT button 2822 can be associatedwith an EXIT option in a purchase opportunity (e.g., 2510, FIG. 25).GUIDE button 2824 may be used to invoke an interactive televisionprogram guide (e.g., a program guide menu screen, program listingsscreen, or other program guide screen).

The keys shown in FIG. 28 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive media guidance application. An editbutton may be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials,remove portions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used toenter alphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used tobrowse backward in the interactive media guidance application (e.g., toreturn to a previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Videorecorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button, stopbutton, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, may beused to control video recorder functions (local or network-based) insystem 2700 (FIG. 27). A help key may be used to invoke help functionssuch as context-sensitive on-screen help functions.

Illustrative user computer equipment 2712 (FIG. 27) is shown in FIG. 3.User computer equipment 2712 may be stand-alone or a part of homenetwork 2713 (FIG. 27). In the arrangement of FIG. 3, personal computerunit 302 may be controlled by the user using keyboard 310 and/or othersuitable user input device such as a trackball, mouse 306, touch pad,touch screen, voice recognition system, or a remote control, such asremote control 2800 of FIG. 28. Video content, such as televisionprogramming or web pages having video elements, interactive mediaguidance application display screens, and purchase opportunity screens(e.g., FIGS. 15, 24-26) may be displayed on monitor 312. Television andmusic programming, media guidance application data (e.g., televisionprogram guide data), video-on-demand content, video recordings playedback from a network-based video recorder, merchandise information,electronic merchandise, and other data may be received from paths 2718and 2738 (FIG. 27) using input/output 304. User commands and otherinformation (e.g., user equipment identifier 1304, FIG. 13, locationinformation of FIGS. 22-23) generated as a result of user interactionswith the interactive media guidance application and system 2700 (FIG.27) may also be transmitted over input/output 508.

Personal computer unit 302 may contain a television or video card, suchas a television tuner card, for decoding analog, digital, andhigh-definition television channels and for handling streaming videocontent. Multiple video cards (e.g., tuner cards) may be provided ifdesired. An illustrative television tuner card that may be used maycontain an analog television tuner for tuning to a given analog channel,digital decoding circuitry for filtering out a desired digitaltelevision or music channel from a packetized digital data stream, and ahigh-definition television tuner for tuning to a high-definitionchannel. Any suitable card or components in computer unit 302 may beused to handle video and other content delivered via input/output line304 if desired.

Personal computer unit 302 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive media guidanceapplication or a portion of the interactive media guidance application.The one or more processors can also be used to perform purchaseopportunity operations, such as those of FIGS. 14, 17, 19, and 23.

Personal computer unit 302 may include a hard drive, a recordable DVDdrive, a recordable CD drive, or other suitable storage device ordevices that stores video, program guide data, media programs,merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and other content. Theinteractive media guidance application and personal computer unit 302may use a storage device or devices to, for example, provide thefunctions of a personal video recorder.

User equipment, such as user equipment 2708, user television equipment2710, user computer equipment 2712, and user equipment located on homenetwork 2713 (FIG. 27), such as those shown in FIGS. 1-6, may be usedwith network equipment such as server 2730, server 2740, a home networkserver, distribution facilities (also represented as 802, FIG. 8), andequipment at service providers such as service provider 2742 of FIG. 27or service provider 814 of FIG. 8 to provide network-based videorecording functions. Video recording functions may be provided bystoring copies of television programs and other video content on aremote server (e.g., server 2730 or server 2740 or a home networkserver) or other network-based equipment, such as equipment at a serviceprovider such as service provider 2742.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 2708 or user equipment located on home network2713 (FIG. 27). In a personal video recorder arrangement, theinteractive media guidance application may be used to record mediaprograms and related merchandise information locally on the userequipment in response to the user commands. In a network-based videorecorder arrangement, the interactive media guidance application may beused to record media programs and related merchandise information or tomake virtual recordings (described below) on network equipment such asserver 2730, server 2740, a home network server, or equipment at serviceprovider 2742 in response to the user commands. The user commands may beprovided to the network equipment over the communications paths shown inFIG. 27. The personal video recorder arrangement and the network-basedvideo recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward,rewind, pause, play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, system 2700 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings, media programs, merchandiseinformation, and electronic merchandise. The video content need only bestored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area. Personal settings or any other suitable data maybe stored in a user's personal area on the network.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangementsdescribed above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodimentof illustrative user equipment 2708, 2710, and 2712 (FIG. 27), such asthose shown in FIGS. 1-6, and user equipment located on home network2713 (FIG. 27) is shown in FIG. 29. Control circuitry 2902 is connectedto input/output 2904. Input/output 2904 may be connected to one or morecommunications paths such as paths 2714, 2716, 2718, 2728, 2736, and2738 of FIG. 27. Media programs (e.g., television programming, musicprogramming, other video and audio, and web pages) may be received viainput/output 2904 (e.g., from programming sources 2702, servers or otherequipment (e.g., 802, 814, FIG. 8), such as server 2730, serviceproviders such as service provider 2742, distribution facility 2704,etc.). Interactive media guidance application data, such as programschedule information for an interactive television program guide ormerchandise information for purchase opportunities, may be received fromdata source 2720 via input/output 2904. Input/output 2904 may also beused to receive data from data source 2720 for other interactivetelevision applications. The user may use control circuitry 2902 to sendand receive commands, requests, and other suitable data (e.g.,merchandise information, electronic merchandise, user equipmentidentifier, or location information) using input/output 2904.

Control circuitry 2902 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry2906 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 2902 executes instructionsfor an interactive media guidance application or other interactiveapplication (e.g., web browser) from memory. Memory (e.g., random-accessmemory and read-only memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any othersuitable memory or storage devices may be provided as storage 2908 thatis part of control circuitry 2902. Tuning circuitry such as one or moreanalog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital videocircuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or videocircuits or combinations of such circuits may also be included as partof circuitry 2902. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for convertingover-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage)may also be provided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used bythe user equipment to receive and display, play, or record a particulartelevision or music channel or other desired audio and video content(e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based or local videorecorder playback). Television programming and other video and on-screenoptions and information (e.g., interactive screens of FIGS. 15, 25-26)may be displayed on display 2910. Display 2910 may be a monitor, atelevision, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visualimages. In some embodiments, display 2910 may be HDTV-capable. Speakers2912 may be provided as part of a television or may be stand-aloneunits. Digital music and the audio component of videos displayed ondisplay 2910 may be played through speakers 2912. In some embodiments,the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processesand outputs the audio via speakers 2912.

A user may control the control circuitry 2902 using user input interface2914. User input interface 2914 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, voicerecognition interface, or a remote control.

Accordingly, what have been described thus far are systems and methodsfor delivering a media program and merchandise information formerchandise related to the media program to user equipment. A mediaprogram and its related merchandise information can be located at aserver/distribution facility and/or another type of hosting/distributionsystem. When a server/distribution facility receives a request for amedia program from user equipment, the server/distribution facility cantailor the merchandise information it provides to the user equipmentbased on the user equipment's equipment category. When user equipmentreceives merchandise information, the user equipment can filter themerchandise information based on which types of merchandise aresupported by the user equipment. A user may be interested in seeinginformation about physical merchandise and where they are available forpurchase. The user equipment and/or a server/distribution facility maybe able to determine the location of the user equipment. When theserver/distribution facility provides merchandise information forphysical merchandise to the user equipment, the merchandise informationcan be selected to include only physical merchandise that are availablefor purchase at stores that are, for example, near the location of theuser equipment. The disclosed embodiments and illustrations areexemplary and do not limit the scope of the disclosed invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a media asset andmerchandise information for physical merchandise related to the mediaasset, comprising: receiving, using a communication circuit, a mediaasset request associated with a user equipment, wherein a requestedmedia asset associated with the media asset request is associated with amerchandise information pointer; determining a current media asset timeof the requested media asset; identifying, based on the merchandiseinformation pointer, a table of merchandise information for a pluralityof physical merchandise that is related to the current media asset timeof the requested media asset; determining a location of the userequipment; accessing, using a processor, the table of merchandiseinformation for the plurality of physical merchandise that is related tothe current media asset time of the requested media asset anddetermining therefrom locations where the plurality of physicalmerchandise is available for purchase; determining, using the processor,relative locations of the user equipment to corresponding locations ofwhere each physical merchandise of the plurality of physical merchandiseis available for purchase; selecting, using the processor, at least onephysical merchandise of the plurality of physical merchandise related tothe current media asset time of the requested media asset to recommendbased on the determined relative locations; and communicating, using thecommunication circuit, an advertisement associated with the selected atleast one physical merchandise to the user equipment, wherein theadvertisement associated with the selected at least one physicalmerchandise that is related to the current media asset time of therequested media asset is displayed during the current media asset timeand includes an indication of the location of the at least one physicalmerchandise.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the locationof the user equipment comprises computing the location of the userequipment using location triangulation.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein selecting at least one of the plurality of physical merchandiseto recommend comprises identifying physical merchandise which meet atleast one location criterion associated with the relative locations ofthe user equipment and the physical merchandise.
 4. The method of claim1, further comprising periodically re-determining the location of theuser equipment.
 5. A system for providing a media asset and merchandiseinformation for physical merchandise related to the media asset,comprising a processor configured to: receive a media asset requestassociated with a user equipment, wherein a requested media assetassociated with the media asset request is associated with a merchandiseinformation pointer; determine a current media asset time of therequested media asset; identify, based on the merchandise informationpointer, a table of merchandise information for a plurality of physicalmerchandise that is related to the current media asset time of therequested media asset; determine a location of the user equipment;access the table of merchandise information for the plurality ofphysical merchandise that is related to the current media asset time ofthe requested media asset and determine therefrom locations where theplurality of physical merchandise is available for purchase, determinerelative locations of the user equipment to corresponding locations ofwhere each physical merchandise of the plurality of physical merchandiseis available for purchase; select at least one physical merchandise ofthe plurality of physical merchandise related to the current media assettime of the requested media asset to recommend based on the determinedrelative locations; and communicate an advertisement associated with theselected at least one physical merchandise to the user equipment,wherein the advertisement associated with the selected at least onephysical merchandise that is related to the current media asset time ofthe requested media asset is displayed during the current media assettime and includes an indication of the location of the at least onephysical merchandise.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the locationdetermination circuit is configured to determine the location of theuser equipment by computing the location of the user using locationtriangulation.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor executesmachine instructions to select at least one of the plurality of physicalmerchandise to recommend which meets at least one location criterionassociated with the relative locations of the user equipment and thephysical merchandise.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the locationdetermination circuit is configured to periodically re-determine thelocation of the user equipment.
 9. A method for providing a media assetand merchandise information for physical merchandise related to themedia asset through an interactive program guide, comprising: receiving,using a communication circuit, a media asset request associated with auser equipment implementing an interactive program guide, wherein arequested media asset associated with the media asset request isassociated with a merchandise information pointer; determining a currentmedia asset time of the requested media asset: identifying, based on themerchandise information pointer, a table of merchandise information fora plurality of physical merchandise that is related to the current mediaasset time of the requested media asset; determining a location of theuser equipment using a location determination circuit; accessing, usinga processor, the table of merchandise information for the plurality ofphysical merchandise that is related to the current media asset time ofthe requested media asset and determining therefrom locations where theplurality of physical merchandise is available for purchase;determining, using the processor, relative locations of the userequipment to corresponding locations of where each physical merchandiseof the plurality of physical merchandise is available for purchase;selecting, using the processor, at least one physical merchandise of theplurality of physical merchandise related to the current media assettime of the requested media asset to recommend based on the determinedrelative locations; and communicating, using the communication circuit,an advertisement associated with the selected at least one physicalmerchandise to the user equipment, wherein the advertisement associatedwith the selected at least one physical merchandise that is related tothe current media asset time of the requested media asset is displayedduring the current media asset time and includes an indication of thelocation of the at least one physical merchandise.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein determining the location of the user equipmentcomprises computing the location of the user equipment using locationtriangulation.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting at least oneof the plurality of physical merchandise to recommend comprisesidentifying physical merchandise which meet at least one locationcriterion associated with the relative locations of the user equipmentand the physical merchandise.
 12. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising periodically re-determining the location of the userequipment.
 13. The method of claim 3, wherein the location criterioncomprises at least one of: the location of the physical merchandisematching a zip code of the location of the user equipment, the locationof the physical merchandise matching a neighboring zip code of thelocation of the user equipment, the location of the physical merchandisebeing within a particular distance radius of the user equipment.
 14. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the location criterion comprises at least oneof: the location of the physical merchandise matching a zip code of thelocation of the user equipment, the location of the physical merchandisematching a neighboring zip code of the location of the user equipment,the location of the physical merchandise being within a particulardistance radius of the user equipment.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein the location criterion comprises at least one of: the locationof the physical merchandise matching a zip code of the location of theuser equipment, the location of the physical merchandise matching aneighboring zip code of the location of the user equipment, the locationof the physical merchandise being within a particular distance radius ofthe user equipment.